275: 120: The Light King and His Knights!
(Requesting monthly tickets!)_2 275: 120: The Light King and His Knights!
(Requesting monthly tickets!)_2 But one thing was certain — Jordan didn’t have an easy time receiving the ball in any round, and there were no rounds in which scoring came easily.
Four men, each would begin to entangle Jordan even without the ball.
Even if Jordan truly shook off the entanglement and received the basketball, a double-team would immediately appear.
It might be Roger, or it might be Horace Grant.
In any case, Jordan hardly ever got the chance for a one-on-one.
Jordan was constantly being drained, double-teamed.
Under such a rhythm, the Magic Team successfully kept the Bulls’ score down to 41 points in the first half.
41 to 48, the defending champions entered the half-time break with a 7-point advantage.
Jordan only had 10 points at the half, and only 3 of those were field goals.
Pippen scored 17 points in the first half, brimming with pride, everyone was saying he performed excellently today.
Roger also had 17 points in the first half, however, to the fans, this was just a normal performance for Roger.
Pippen was still rejoicing, little did he know, in the hearts of the fans, he and Roger had already been segregated by class.
The team trailed by 7 points entering the second half, but the Zen Master was incredibly calm.
This slight disadvantage was trivial.
In the Magic’s locker room, most players were gasping for breath.
Today, Brian Hill’s extreme defensive strategy against Jordan was a challenge for every player who defended Jordan.
Although Brian Hill had four people taking turns to defend Jordan, the strain was still immense on every individual.
But this also proved that Jordan’s strain was even greater!
On the other hand, Michael Jordan was indeed drenched in sweat, as if an egg had been thrown into a steamer.
He seldom felt this exhausted just after playing half of the game.
The Magic’s defense was simply crazy, and Jordan certainly knew their purpose was to drain him as much as possible.
But were they not afraid of draining themselves first?
Jordan wiped off his sweat, then lifted his head, “Everybody get your spirits up, our time has come!”
He wanted to let the Magic know what it meant to strike at the soul in the third quarter!
The game soon started in the third quarter, and the Bulls noticed the Magic had changed their starting lineup for the second half, Sarunas Marciulionis replacing Derrick McKey.
In the first half, Marciulionis had not played much, just 6 minutes, and made two baskets.
The Zen Master didn’t pay much attention to the substitution.
He knew Brian Hill’s calculation, having Marciulionis there as a shooting option to punish the Bulls’ pressuring double-teams.
But in Zen Master’s view, Brian Hill was a bit too presumptuous.
Just relying on a Sarunas definitely wouldn’t withstand the storm the Bulls would bring in the third quarter.
In fact, you might not even safely get the ball into Sarunas’s hands.
This quarter, the Bulls would show the Magic how futile their resistance was.
The Magic started the offense, with Harper bringing the ball past half-court.
No sooner had he neared the three-point line than Dumars blocked his left hand, forcing him toward the right baseline.
Harper didn’t fall into the trap, immediately passing the ball to Roger on the right.
The moment Roger got the ball, Pippen and Dumars pressed in for a double-team, giving Roger no chance to breathe!
Under the fierce double-team, Roger quickly passed the ball back to Harper.
Harper touched the ball with one hand, swiftly transferring it to the weak side where Sarunas Marciulionis had already moved beyond the three-point line!
Sarunas caught the ball, and facing the escaping defender Jordan, who lunged towards him, he gently lifted the basketball.
Jordan leaped energetically, confident he could block the shot directly.
But once in the air, Jordan saw Sarunas pull back the ball and dribble past him.
“Cunning European bastard!” Jordan cursed inwardly; upon landing, he immediately chased after the breaking Sarunas.
At the same time, Rodman was also swinging his arms, joining in to defend against the Lithuanian bursting into the zone.
The Bulls’ defense, for any ball handler, was a pressing double-team without exception.
Under the double pressure from Jordan and Rodman, Sarunas timely bounced the ball to his side, passing it to Roger who had just shaken off Pippen.
Roger caught the ball at mid-range, took the shot, and the basketball swiftly sank into the net, widening the Magic’s lead to 9 points!
“Michael, did you just think in the locker room that you could widen the gap in the third quarter and then all your troubles would be over?
If I unfortunately guessed right, then you better abandon that thought early!” After the score, Roger shrugged at Jordan.
A flicker of unease finally crossed Phil Jackson’s usually complacent face.
Not right, what I thought earlier was wrong!
Marciulionis’s entry might have another purpose!
A round later, Rodman’s rebound brought the score back down to a 7-point difference.
But the Magic quickly scored again.
This time Roger, before the Bulls’ double team could form, immediately passed the ball to Sarunas who had moved out beyond the three-point line.
But Jordan quickly followed, not giving him a chance to shoot.
If a shooter can’t shoot, no matter how accurate he is, it won’t matter.
However, it seemed Sarunas didn’t intend to shoot at all.
The moment he caught the ball, he passed it to the cutting Roger.
Roger, with the ball, took two big steps into the paint and scored a layup under the protection of Rodman and Longley.
They could only watch helplessly as the basketball flew over their fingertips and into the net; there was nothing else they could do.
The difference jumped to 9 points again!
The Bulls’ tightly prided defense in the third quarter had no effect on Roger!
After scoring, Roger stretched out his hands in Jordan’s stance towards Rodman.